Huh. Little Italy. Momma Mia!
You know you're in trouble when the Christmas Prince is a better movie.
Yes, there are SOME shots in this movie of the actual Little Italy here in Toronto like when Hayden and Emma are biking around Clinton street. And the Monarch Tavern is prominently featured, which is weird because that's not Italian, yet they didn't use Bitondos or The Diplimatico which are the most well known Italian restaurants in the area.
Cakebud Tranch got it right...
Some of the establishing shots at the beginning, again, where Leo is riding his bike around, and where the BEST PIZZA CONTEST is held, are from the Distillery District here in Toronto, which is literally on the other side of city. Like SO FAR from Little Italy itself. Toronto's Little Italy is frankly unremarkable -- and I can say that because I lived in that neighbourhood for 6 years. I WISH the Little Italy here was as good as in the movie. It's like shooting a scene in the Upper East Side of New York and calling it Little Italy. For people that live here that's annoying.
And the whole airport security line stopped and watched the entire proclamation of love scene. Annoying.
Side story: my sister-in-law and 3 year old niece were wandering around Little Italy (where they now live in my old apartment) and came across the set for Vince's pizza shop. They got super excited about there being a new pizza shop in the area. They even sat down at one of the outdoor tables waiting to get served, until they realized after a few minutes that the "staff" was just hanging out looking a little despondent and bored. That's when it dawned on her that it was a movie set. And no one told them to move! She happened to be at my house when I was watching the movie for this podcast and she lost her mind when she saw the external shot of the restaurant. She made me pause the movie to tell me the story!
Also that pizza they eat straight out of the pizza oven on their date would be too hot to casually hold and eat right away. But they just manga right into it!
Thanks for a fun listen P,J and J!
